Even in the midst of an intensely hyperactive condo boom, it is rare to see grand architectural gestures from residential developments in Toronto. Tableau Condominiums is one such project. The 36-storey tower, being developed jointly by Urban Capital Property Group, Malibu Investments and ALIT Developments, is in fact named for that architectural gesture.

The signature element of the design by Wallman Architects is a massive transfer slab, or structural "table", on which will sit the residential portion of the tower. Holding up the "table" will be 60 foot columns which will create a soaring colonnaded public plaza along Richmond Street West.

Rendering courtesy of UrbanCapital and Malibu Developments

Construction of the tower is already well under way, and recently formwork has come down revealing some of the nine large columns. Our forum members have captured some great shots of this highly anticipate colonnade.

Image courtesy of MafaldaBoy

Image courtesy of urbandreamer

Whereas many recent condominium developments have attempted (poorly) to obscure transfer slabs behind spandrel glass, often resulting in awkwardly uneven floor heights, Tableau stands out for utilizing its transfer slab in an honest yet clever manner. In addition to being structurally integral to the tower, this "table" will act as a means of visually separating the residential portion of the building from its base, which will include retail at ground level and two floors of office space integrated into a re-built heritage façade. The plaza behind the colonnade will feature a mosaic-tiled floor and a dynamic sculpture by Shayne Dark entitled "Nova".

For more information and renderings of Tableau, click on our dataBase link below. Want to talk about the project? Click on the forum thread link, or leave a comment in the space provided on this page.

Rami Kozman is a commercial real estate lawyer in Toronto and can be found on Twitter at twitter.com/ramikozman.